The monthly per capita expenditure data points to shifts in consumption, but it should not be used for reconfiguring the Consumer Price Index
The findings could lead to a decrease in the weighting of food in the CPI, which is used by the central bank to frame monetary policy
The growth rate in the IIP slightly increased to 3.8 per cent in December from 2.4 per cent in November on the back of improvement in the performance of the manufacturing sector (3.9 per cent)
Citigroup economists said in a research note last week that they expect mild reflation in 2024, and forecast annual CPI inflation at 1.2 per cent year-on-year
Go for the flexibility of dynamic bond funds if you are unsure about direction of rates
Continuous VRR indicates accommodative approach on liquidity
But avoid going overboard with exposure as unforeseen events could prevent inflation from softening
The annual rate of increase in consumer prices dropped to 3.9% from 4.6% in October, pushed down in part by cheaper petrol, for its lowest reading since September 2021
The target for the central bank is to maintain inflation at 4 per cent, with a band of 2 per cent on either side
Machine learning can improve inflation forecasting
The rupee closed at 83.3875 against the U.S. dollar, barely changed from its close at 83.3925 in the previous session. The unit hovered between 83.36 and 83.39 on Tuesday
In October 2023, rural inflation stood at 5.12 per cent against urban inflation at 4.62 per cent
Food inflation remained sticky as it slightly moderated to 6.61 per cent in October from 6.62 per cent in September due to the prices of items within the category cancelling each other out
Food inflation also declined to a three-month low of 6.56 per cent in September from 9.94 per cent in August
Weekly jobless claims unchanged at 209,000
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) started its three-day meeting on Wednesday amid expectations of a status quo on the rate front in its bi-monthly monetary policy review. The policy review will be announced on Friday morning. In case of a status quo, interest rates for retail, as well as corporate borrowers, would remain stable. Experts believe that the Reserve Bank will retain the benchmark rate at 6.5 per cent in view of the elevated inflation and global factors. The Reserve Bank started increasing the policy rate in May 2022 in tranches, in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war and took it to 6.5 per cent in February this year. Since then, it has kept the rate unchanged in the last three successive bi-monthly monetary policy reviews. "The credit policy this time will most likely continue with the existing rate structure as well as policy stance. Hence, the repo rate will be retained at 6.5 per cent with the stance of withdrawal of accommodation," .
Some expect upward revision in FY24 inflation forecast
Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to 6.91 per cent in August from 7.54 per cent in July this year mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. "Year-on-year inflation for the month (August) stood at 6.91 per cent compared to 7.54 per cent for the previous month and 5.85 per cent during the corresponding month a year before," a Labour Bureau statement said. Food inflation stood at 10.06 per cent in August against 11.87 per cent in the previous month (July 2023) and 6.46 per cent during the corresponding month (August 2022) a year ago. The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, has been compiling the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) every month on the basis of retail prices collected from 317 markets spread over 88 industrially important centres in the country. The index is compiled for 88 centres and All-India and is released on the last working day of the succeeding month. The All-India CPI-IW for August 2023
According to the CME Fed Watch tool, 99 per cent of investors expect the US Federal Reserve to keep the rates unchanged at 5.25-5.50 per cent in their next meeting
The work on appropriate weights of various items could be completed once the household consumption expenditure survey is out